History Museum

1974	Waterworks Museum established as a charitable trust.
1984	Restructured as a company limited by guarantee and registered charity.
1992	Tangye House opened (the former Leominster water pumping station).
1999	Museum starts to open every Tuesday (with weekly gathering of Volunteers).
1999	Museum celebrates silver anniversary
2000	English Heritage put main building on register of ‘listed buildings at risk’, which required a major work on the roof and chimneystack.
2001	Trustees announce plans to refurbish the listed building and build a new Visitor Centre, new engine exhibition space and an engineers’ workshop.
2002	Go ahead for new build project confirmed.
2003	Museum closed for two years for Listed Building refurbishment (2003-2005).
2004	Funding for new build project and Rotherwas Building project confirmed
2005	Offered the Blackstone engine and relics from Rotherwas Munitions Factory.
2006	Leased additional land for Rotherwas Building.
2006	Visitor Centre (Easthall), Southall Engine Gallery and Engineers Workshop formally opened.
2007	Rotherwas Building opened + Hereford’s only permanent exhibition to WWII.
2007	Accredited Museum status attained
2010	Water on Tap exhibition opened
2010	Concept for a Heritage Water Park announced + additional land leased.
2011	Planning permission confirmed for Heritage Water Park.
2011	Museum starts is programme of children’s events in the school holidays.
2012	Funding confirmed for Heritage Water Park.
2014	Museum celebrates 40^th anniversary
2015	Heritage Water Park opened.

Did You Know?

The Waterworks Museum was first established over 45 years ago in 1974.

In 2000, the Museum was on the listed buildings ‘at risk’ register and was at risk of closure.

To create the Noel Meeke Heritage Water Park a team of 30 volunteers gave over 2,300 hours of their time.

The collection includes many important items of our industrial heritage, which but for the intervention of the Museum would have been lost forever.

The Museum’s collection totals over 3,500 items (including books, documents and records relating to the water industry).

The Museum’s display in the Rotherwas Building is the only permanent exhibition dedicated to Hereford in WWII.

In 2015, volunteers welcomed over 5,400 visitors to the Museum (a record year).

The main Museum building is one of less than 6% of all Listed Buildings that is rated as Grade II*.

Broomy Hill pumping station was built 165 years ago (in 1856) and the site is still used today for pumping water to Welsh Water’s treatment works.

Volunteers run every aspect of the Museum – we have no paid staff.

Our working triple-expansion steam engine, which stands two-floors high, was built in 1895 and continued in use supplying water to Hereford until 1952.

The Museum’s oldest exhibit, a horse drawn fire engine, dates to 1805 and was used on the estate at Stoke Edith.

A Brief History Of The Waterworks Museum - Hereford

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